Mister Babadook
by cakelesspixels
Summary: Ten years after the events of the film, Sophie must deal with constant bullying at school. The emotion toll it takes on her makes her a perfect target for the Babadook. This story uses elements from the film The Babadook, but it's not necessary to have seen the film.
1. Mean Girls

Sophie Bennett remembered. She was young when it happened, but somehow she remembered. Her brother made sure that she never doubted her memories for even a second; he wanted her to know everything had been real. She had vivid memories of brightly colored eggs and falling asleep in the safety of Bunnymund's arms. Her father had never been around much since the divorce. While he hadn't completely abandoned the family, she rarely had a chance to see him. Bunny had been a welcomed paternal influence in her life as short as her time with him was. It made her wish that her time with him could have been prolonged. Although she understood why he couldn't stay with her, it didn't make her want it any less.

"Hey, ugly!"

Sophie froze. She knew that voice all too well. Nevaeh Lewis had become the bane of Sophie's existence since fifth grade. She didn't know why the other girl had honed in on her, but she had been targeting Sophie for years now. Sophie kept walking. She hoped if she kept moving that Nevaeh would get bored and move on. It was an unrealistic hope, but she didn't know what else to do. She wanted to attempt to get away from her without angering Nevaeh too much. If she did, Nevaeh's torment would have increased tenfold.

"Hey! Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"

_Keep moving_, Sophie told herself. Her plan was interrupted when Nevaeh grabbed hold of her backpack to jerk her back with force. Sophie nearly lost her balance. Her arms flailed around as she fought to stay on her feet. The move lacked grace, but she was still standing.

"Maybe this is why her dad left." Standing next to Nevaeh was her best friend - or perhaps crony was a better word - Alyssa Grace. "She doesn't even know how to listen."

"Maybe it's part of the disease she has." Nevaeh was fond of referencing some made up disease she'd diagnosed Sophie with. When the girls were in the sixth grade, Nevaeh started to attribute anything she didn't like about Sophie to this fake disease. She'd never even given it a name. Sophie assumed the lack of name was a reflection of Nevaeh's lack of creativity. "You start losing your hearing," she continued.

"Yeah!" Alyssa laughed. "It's what makes her so ugly, too."

Sophie kept quiet. She just wanted it to be over. She felt one of the girls grab her shoulder to shove her down. She didn't know who it was, but it didn't particularly matter. She fell to the concrete sidewalk below. Her knee scraped against the cold surface. Even though it stung, Sophie dared not make a sound. She didn't want to show that they'd succeeded in inflicting pain. Although she wouldn't fight back, she would still find ways to remain defiant. When she started getting to her feet again, she could see trickles of blood dripping from her knee. She was only grateful that the injury was minor.

Coming home from school had become one of the most dreaded parts of Sophie's day. While she didn't get much help from teachers at school, the school building still afforded her some source of protection that she lacked when walking home. The girls knew it was the best time to corner her for the attack. Nobody was there to step in and stop the torment from happening.

"You know, I'm surprised they let trash come to school," Alyssa said. "Isn't that a health hazard?"

If Sophie said anything in return, it would only make things worse. They took anything she said to turn it against her or to twist it into some new insult. Other times they would take it as a challenge and they'd start to get even more physical than they were before. Their insults were stale. They had a tendency to set themselves to repeat, as if coming up with daily insults was too taxing on them. But the words still hurt. They hurt far more than any of the bruises that might have followed.

"You mute now, too?"

She knew Nevaeh didn't really want her to talk. It was all part of the game. Taunt her into speaking and, the moment she did, it would justify the next attack in Nevaeh's twisted head. Sophie was a fast learner and Nevaeh had given her ample opportunities to learn how she worked.

"Is everything okay over there?"

Sophie looked up to see a middle aged woman watching them. Sophie realized the house that they stood in front of might have been hers. She had a small child on her hip as she watched the three girls standing on the sidewalk. The dubious look on her face told Sophie that she probably had some inkling of what was going on. Her approach was meant to put a stop to whatever was happening without being overly confrontational. it was a tactic Sophie appreciated. There was a chance Nevaeh and Alyssa wouldn't blame her for the fact they'd gotten caught.

"Yes, ma'am." Nevaeh turned on her nauseatingly fake smile. She knew how to turn it off and on whenever an adult came around. Unfortunately for her, it seemed as if the woman had seen enough that it wouldn't work this time around.

"I think maybe you and your little friend should get going." She readjusted the child on her hip. "I don't like you kids loitering in front of my yard."

Nevaeh and Alyssa exchanged a look before they started to move forward. They looked back at Sophie before it was clear they'd given up on their target for now. They went back to gossiping about whatever it was they talked about when they weren't tormenting someone else. Sophie did sometimes wonder what it was they did together. It was hard to imagine them doing anything that required any kind of human emotion other than hate.

"Are you okay, honey?" The woman asked. "Do you need help with your knee?"

Sophie had almost forgotten about her savior. She quickly shook her head. "No," she said. "But thank you."

Sophie immediately took off in the other direction. She didn't fear the woman. She had a feeling it was just a concerned mother who genuinely had her best interest at heart. The reason she'd fled was she was embarrassed. She didn't know how much the woman had seen. She might have witnessed them picking her apart as if she were nothing. What had she really thought about Sophie? All Sophie had done was stand there passively while they said and did whatever they wanted. She just needed to get out of there. She needed to get away from it.

As she continued to run home, she felt a slight fear well up inside of her that Nevaeh and Alyssa might follow her. She didn't care about the blood that was making its way down her leg. She could clean it when she got home. She didn't stop to look back to see if they had doubled back to follow her. All she wanted to do was get home. She felt relief when she caught sight of her house. She forced herself to run a little bit faster in order to hurry inside. It was unlikely that the other two girls would be after her, but she wouldn't feel safe until she was inside her home. It was her sanctuary.

The moment she stepped inside, she pulled the door shut and locked it. She checked the windows as well. She doubt they would actually attempt to come into her house, but she didn't want to learn she was wrong the hard way. She'd read enough news stories of the horrible things people did to each other. It was hard to say how far those two might go. She would rather give into her paranoid fears than be sorry she ignored her impulses. The house was dark. Her mother must have been at work, and Jamie was probably out with friends. He was spending more and more time away from home in recent months. His absence made the house feel empty, but that was the nature of change. Things couldn't stay the same forever even if she wished they could. In time, she would grow used to Jamie being out of the house and the childhood they spent together would feel like a completely different lifetime. That was how her mother described her own childhood. Sophie assumed it would be the same for them.

She bandaged up her knee in the bathroom, grateful it was the only battle scar of the day. It seemed like such a horrible thing to be grateful for, yet she knew it could be so much worse. With the wound tended to, Sophie headed to her room. Once she stepped inside, she tossed her book bag beside the door. She made her way over to her bed and flopped down onto it face first. With her head buried in her pillow, she let out a low, frustrated groan. Several seconds passed by before she finally turned her head away from her pillow. She studied her own room for a moment. One of the consistent themes in the room were the little rabbits that decorated most of her furniture. While Jamie had his bond with Jack Frost, it was the Easter Bunny that Sophie would always remember best. The walls were covered with movie posters and musicians she adored. It was the one place she could be completely alone and escape the outside world.

She looked to her bookshelf which was overflowing with books. She'd become quite the avid reader over the years. Her mother had begged her time and time again to go through her books to get rid of some of them if she was going to keep adding more to her collection. It would probably never happen. Sophie paused when she noticed an unfamiliar book. She pushed herself off of her bed to head over to investigate it. She was sure she'd recall what it was if she started reading it. The hardback book was covered in a striking red fabric. On the cover it read, _Mister Babadook_. Underneath it there was a black silhouette of a man with wild hair and an old fashioned top hat. It wasn't familiar to her. It was possible she had bought it or received it as a gift and simply forgot. She had so many that it was difficult to keep track of everything.

Curiously, she took it back to her bed with her. Curling up on top of the blankets, she flipped open the book to read. It was a children's book, but it had intrigued her. _It could still be a fun read_, she reasoned. And it wasn't as if her classmates would catch her with it. After opening it, she saw it was a pop up book. Everything was colored in black and gray. It was far more drab than she had anticipated, but the artwork was unlike anything she was used to seeing in children's books. She kind of liked it even if it was a bit eerie.

"If it's in a word, or it's in a look,you can't get rid of the Babadook," Sophie read. "If you're really a clever one and you know what it is to see, then you can make friends with a special one, a friend of you and me. His name is Mr. Babadook and this is his book.

"A rumbling sound then three sharp knocks - ba BA-ba DOOK! DOOK! DOOK! That's when you'll know that he's around. You'll see him if you look. This is what he wears on top. He's funny don't you think?"

She looked at the image of the Babadook. He had an unnerving grin that took up the majority of his face. His eyes were wide and stared up from the pages of the book at her. Sophie almost felt as if the illustration could actually see her. She tried to shake the feeling and continued to read. It was just a silly children's book after all.

"See him in your room at night and you won't sleep a wink..." She trailed off. The book was growing darker. A shiver rolled down her spine when she looked to the little bed in the book. Lying on top of it was a girl with long light colored hair like her own. She tried to ignore it. It was most likely a coincidence. It wasn't like she was the only fair headed girl in the world.

"'I'll soon take off my funny disguise,'" she continued. "Take heed of what you've read. And once you see what's underneath... You're going to wish you were dead."

Her heart stopped. She hadn't anticipated a children's book being the source of such discomfort and unease, but something was off. It wasn't just the words or dark illustration. There was something else looming over her as she read. She quickly put it aside. It had to be some kind of strange prank. The book had to be a joke; something that only mimicked children's books but was really for the enjoyment of older people. It was a little too much for kids. Or maybe it was a really old book. Older children's books could be incredibly dark in comparison to modern ones.

She stared down at the book for a long time. Finally, she reached out to grab it. It was harmless. She wasn't going to let herself be scared of a stupid book. Heading back over to her bookshelf, she placed it on the top shelf to keep it out of the way. Maybe she'd appreciate it later. Right now, she needed to come down from the shock of it. She'd had too much of a rough day to really enjoy it. It didn't take long for her attention to be redirected elsewhere. When she remembered that the dog needed to be tended to, she hurried downstairs to let her outside. She would contend with _Mister Babadook_ later.

* * *

><p>"Tell her we do not want to see her."<p>

"North, she has to be here for a reason." Tooth moved closer to North who stood by the main fireplace in his workshop. Her faeries fluttered about beside her as they always did. Jack watched from a distance. Ever since they had defeated Pitch, the guardians had been careful to spend more time together whenever life permitted. The original four had become too complacent in their roles as guardians before Jack Frost joined their ranks. They'd allowed themselves to grow too distant with the children and each other, and they vowed to never let it happen again.

Pitch's attack had been a mixed blessing. For all the pain and destruction he caused, it had reminded the guardians what was really important, and it had served to bring them closer together. They were still busy with their jobs, but they still found ways to visit with one another. They had become more close knit than ever before.

Jack still wasn't all that familiar with beings outside of the guardians. He didn't spend too much time socializing with anyone aside from the children or his fellow guardians. It had never been an opportunity that presented itself to him. If he wasn't with the kids, he was a lot more interested in messing with Bunny or spending time in North's workshop.

"Who are we even talking about here?" Jack finally asked. He'd come into the conversation a little late. No one had referred to the woman by name yet in his presence, but they all seemed to know who the subject of the debate was about.

"Befana," Tooth said. "She's a very sweet woman who likes to give presents to children, like North. She could use a little dental work though."

North scoffed. "Sweet woman, my foot."

Tooth glanced at North, but paid no mind to him. "On January fifth, she travels all over Italy to leave toys and candy for good little children and lumps of coal for bad ones."

"Really?" Jack smirked and looked to North. "That sounds remarkably close to your M.O."

"Because she stole all her best ideas from me," he said. "And she makes visiting Italy a living hell every time I visit. Jealousy is an ugly thing."

"Jealousy?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, jealousy," he said. "How often do you hear people outside of Italy ever speak of La Befana?"

"Personally? Never." Jack didn't spend much time in Europe even though he didn't neglect the continent. Stateside, he'd never heard anyone speak about her. Despite being a guardian, Jack was learning there were plenty of people he didn't know about. There were far too many to keep track of if he was being honest. In a way, he felt a bit guilty about it. After so many years of people not believing in him, it felt as if he were something of a hypocrite knowing so little about others like him across the globe.

"And there you have it." North seemed satisfied he'd proven his case. "She wishes children celebrated her as much as me, but she is just a copycat. And now the moon rabbit is siding with-"

"Now don't go dragging Min into this," Bunnymund interrupted. "She's just helping out a friend."

Jack didn't recognized the name Min. He'd heard about the moon rabbit, but all he knew was she was some kind of maternal spirit that was connected to the moon. She'd only ever been 'the moon rabbit' to him.

"Befana just wants to talk with us," Tooth said. "You know she'd never come here without a reason."

Sandy nodded. The swirling sand above his head and hand movements worked in tandem to express his thoughts. Sandy pointed out that Befana disliked North as much as North disliked her. The only thing that would bring her to the North Pole was if something was wrong.

"Exactly," Tooth agreed. "It could be about the children. We should hear her out for their sake."

North sighed. The logic was difficult to argue with. His personal dislike of the woman would have to be pushed aside for the children. North was beginning to understand how Bunny felt when Jack was first brought on as a guardian. North thought Bunny was a bit lucky though; Jack had never been as self-righteous and obnoxious as Befana could be.

Finally, he nodded. He looked to his yetis. "Show her in."

Jack couldn't deny his curiosity. What kind of person could have gotten on North's bad side? North had always been so - for lack of a better word - jolly. Jack had never been privy to any private grudges that the Guardian of Wonder had. He'd never thought of North having any. Before Jack was a guardian, he knew he could get under North's skin, but it had never felt as though North genuinely disliked him. He just didn't trust him to not cause trouble and, if Jack was being honest, he had every right to be wary. Jack would never ruin Christmas for the children, but a little mischief wouldn't have done much harm.

Jack watched as the yetis escorted Befana in. They stood on either side of her and she kept her head held high. For a brief moment, it looked as if they were escorting royalty. Although Jack was sure she had been around for centuries, she looked as if she were only in her forties. Her dark skin and hair contrasted with North's fair complexion and white hair. She wore an old cloak that had been mended with colorful patches. Her dress was old fashioned and she had a brightly colored apron tied around her waist. She carried an old broom with her that looked like a witch's broom.

Only a few feet behind her was the moon rabbit that Jack had heard of before. She was a slender, bipedal rabbit; she was far more delicate looking and shorter than Bunnymund. Her white fur reminded Jack of freshly fallen snow. The moon rabbit could have easily camouflaged herself in the snow surrounding North's workshop.

"Befana." North was the first to greet her. He crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't going to pretend to be overjoyed by her visit. "What is it you want?"

"You're all here." Befana's Italian accent was slight. "Good. This concerns all of you."

"All of us?" Jack's curiosity turned to worry although he didn't allow it to show in his features.

"The children are in danger."

Those words alone were enough to place each of the guardians on alert. She had their undivided attention. Whenever the children were threatened, it became a number one priority. Any animosity between Befana and North was temporarily brushed aside.

"What has happened?" North asked. He turned to his globe as if it would give him answers. "It cannot be Pitch. We-"

"It's not," Befana interrupted. "But we are dealing with something that might be more sinister."

"More sinister?" Jack repeated. "How are you gonna get more sinister than Pitch?"

"Are you sure you are not exaggerating?" North asked.

"Children are dead." The room fell silent. There were no words that could express the surprise and grief each guardian felt in that moment. Befana continued. "Min-young, tell them what you know."

The Korean moon rabbit stepped forward to explain further. "A child in Seoul died. The news said it was an accidental death, but his journal made a lot of references to something called a Babadook. He said it was stalking him. His parents thought it was just a child's fantasy or story so they paid no attention to it."

"A few months after his death, a little girl in La Spezia died," Befana said. "They said it was a suicide."

"How do you know they're connected?" Jack asked.

"She kept a diary, too," Befana said. "And she mentioned the Babadook. Whatever he is, we're afraid that the Babadook is the one killing these children somehow. We knew we had to come to you. I... I knew North's globe might be our only chance of finding whatever this thing is. If we could have handled this ourselves we would have, but we may not powerful enough for this... Babadook."

Befana spat out his name like it were a poison in her mouth. It was the first time Befana had ever admitted North's tactics were superior to her own. Unfortunately, the grim situation made it impossible for North to savor the moment. The children were more valuable than winning an age old grudge. There was no room for petty gloating.

North nodded. "We will find the Babadook," he promised. "And we will stop it."

* * *

><p>"How was school today, Sophie?"<p>

"Fine."

There was no point in telling her mother. Mrs. Bennett did sympathize with her daughter, but there was so little she could do. She'd tried talking to the girls' parents and the school with little results. Both the parents and school were in denial over the girls' behavior. Sophie's teachers had done everything but outright accuse her of lying. The most Sophie had gotten was a half-hearted apology that inspired even more torment the next day.

"What did you do today?"

"Nothing special." That wasn't a lie. School was relatively the same day in and day out. There was nothing remarkable to note. The bullying was all part of her usual schedule.

"Not even in English class?"

Sophie shook her head. English class had become her favorite. She would write fanciful stories that gained her lavish praise from her teacher. Mrs. Collins was the only teacher that seemed to be on her side at school. She had often expressed to Mrs. Bennett that her daughter was an exceptionally gifted writer. She had faith in her and she had been the one to show her how to turn her pain into words on a page. It hadn't been enough to erase all of her scars, but it was a start.

"We had a substitute," she said. "All we did was watch a movie."

While other kids embraced such days, Sophie would have much preferred reading or writing than watching some made for TV movie. She only forced herself to pay attention because the substitute told them they would be quizzed over the contents of the movie.

"Is Jamie coming home for dinner?" Sophie asked.

"He said he was going to be eating at Pippa's." Emily placed a plate of pot roast and potatoes in front of her. "How about later tonight we have some hot cocoa? We can watch a movie or something."

"Sure." Sophie really didn't want to. Occasionally forcing herself to just join in and have fun did help elevate her mood. She hoped that it would work this time, too. Her upset stomach made it difficult to eat, but she managed. If she skipped dinner, she knew her mother would start to question her. She loved her mother, but there was nothing she could do to help. She had tried and Sophie had marked the attempt as a failure. She wouldn't torment her mother with the knowledge that she couldn't protect her child any longer.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Mrs. Bennett got to her feet to head into the living room. She came back in with a familiar book in her hands. "Is this yours?"

Sophie stared at it. Without even looking at the title, she knew which one it was. "Yeah," she said. Why did her mother have it? Had she gone in her room and noticed it? Why would she be going through her books Maybe she was getting impatient with her lack of organization and had tried to straighten out the bookcase for her. If that was the case, why was she questioning her about it?

"It was sitting on the coffee table when I got home," Emily said. "I didn't know if it was yours or Jamie's."

"The coffee table?"

But she'd put it back on the bookshelf. Had she moved it later on and forgot? She had no reason to so it didn't seem likely. Jamie hadn't been home and, even if he had been, he rarely went into her room. He certainly wouldn't have taken anything without permission. He always asked before he borrowed something. If it was his and he was taking it back, he would have mentioned it to her so she wouldn't have been looking for it or to ask how she ended up with it.

Her mother set the book on the chair beside Sophie. Distracted by its presence, Sophie had a difficult time focusing on the conversation. All she could think about was the book and how it had gotten downstairs without her moving it. Her mother went on about her day at work while Sophie only half-listened. She was slightly relieved when dinner was over. She knew her mother wanted to watch a movie, but it would require a lot less input from Sophie. She wouldn't have to respond to questions or commentary. Her mother preferred to watch movies without talking during them.

When her mother was working on making the hot chocolate, Sophie grabbed the book from the chair. "Mom, I'll be right back."

She didn't like having the book in her house now. Something about it made her uncomfortable. If it was Jamie's she'd just deal with the consequences or try to buy him a new one. While her mother was still at the stove, Sophie headed out to the garbage can outside to throw the book away. She was overreacting. It was just a book. It couldn't hurt her no matter how uneasy it made her feel. She didn't like to throw books away, but for this one she'd make an exception for.

After she'd thrown it away, Sophie returned to the house to settle in to watch television with her mother. Her mother seemed to have some inkling that something was wrong with her daughter. Sophie could tell by how she spoke to her. It wasn't a condescending tone, but she could hear the concern in her voice. She even told her that she could pick the movie they watched. Sophie did keep her mother's tastes in mind when she settled on an old movie from the nineteen-forties. Sophie wasn't sure if she would like it, but the old comedy did wonders in helping her forget.

Much needed laughter filled the Bennett household.


	2. He Lives In Misery

It wasn't unusual for people of all ages to look forward to the weekend. For Sophie, it was her sanctuary. Two days of the week where she knew she wouldn't have to face Nevaeh or Alyssa. She could feel completely relaxed and safe. She promised herself that this weekend was going to be great.

Beth Yang was on her way over. She and Beth had been friends since kindergarten. The two girls had hit it off almost instantly and it was the perfect friendship. They had their stupid fights from time to time, but they would always make up in less than two hours after the initial argument. The two girls were inseparable. Her mother had even joked that Beth was her adopted daughter with how often she started to come around.

Beth wasn't wildly popular either, but things had been looking up for her since she'd joined band. It wasn't going to skyrocket her to popularity and it didn't need to. The friendships she would make were enough. Beth had introduced Sophie to a few of her new friends, but Sophie hadn't exactly become part of that circle of friends. That could change in time. Beth had encouraged her to join an extracurricular activity of her own to try reaching out to new people. It didn't seem like a bad idea. The real struggle was deciding where she thought she might fit in.

"Your friend is coming by, right, Soph?"

Sophie nodded. "Yeah," she said. "You heading off?"

Jamie had a few growth spurts since their run in with Jack Frost. The boy who had once barely come up to Jack's shoulders was now 5'8". He ruffled her hair as he walked by her to grab a soda from the refrigerator.

"Just for a few hours," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be by yourself."

"I'm not a little kid anymore. You don't need to worry about babysitting me."

"No, but I don't want you getting lonely." Jamie had the biggest heart of anyone Sophie knew. He knew about her troubles at school. She never told him that it was getting worse, but it was clear that he knew something was wrong.

"What about Caleb's party?"

"He'll have others."

"True," she said. "He has one every other week."

"Can't blame a guy for wanting to have a good time." Jamie grinned. "But it wouldn't be a big deal for me to skip just one."

Sophie shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "Beth's coming over so we'd just be ignoring you anyway."

"I am way too cool to ignore," he teased. "Well, if you're sure you're good, I'll leave you two to your own devices."

With his soda in hand, he said a quick farewell to Sophie. He was sure to say goodbye to Abby on his way out. Sophie didn't mind being alone for the few hours she had to wait for Beth. She'd come to appreciate having time to herself with no one else in the house. Her mother was working for the weekend and wouldn't be back until later that night. She would have to worry about making her own dinner which wasn't unusual.

Not wanting to put in too much effort into cooking lunch, Sophie settled on making a sandwich before settling down in front of the television. She had time to kill before Beth would finally join her. Abby slept by the door. She always preferred to stay beside doorways as if she was acting as a guard.

Completely immersed in the film she'd settled on, the knock at the door caught her off-guard. Jumping at the sound, she whipped her head around to look at the door. She glanced at the clock to see the time. It was only one o'clock. _Beth must be early,_ she thought. She headed to the door to stand on her tiptoes to look out the peephole. Abby was only a few feet away giving a low growl.

"It's okay, Abby," Sophie said. "It's just a visitor." When she looked through the peephole, she didn't see anyone. She furrowed her brow before opening the door to see if there were any leaflets stuck in the door handle. There was nothing. She shrugged and shut the door before looking down at Abby. "Looks like a ding-dong-ditch."

They'd never been the target of kids playing ding-dong-ditch, but there was a first time for everything. As annoying as it was, it was a harmless prank. It was one she never completely understood. It didn't seem difficult to trick people to come to their door after knocking on it. It didn't take any skill or wit to pull off.

After establishing that it was most likely a prank, she started back to the living room. She stopped dead in her tracks when there was another knock at the door. This time it was louder. The first heavy knock was followed by three more. Whoever it was must have been pounding their fist against the door.

"Sophie."

The sound of Jamie's voice was unexpected. He'd never been one to pound against the door so harshly. Maybe something was wrong. She hurried to the door to open it to look outside.

"Jamie?"

No one was there. Confused, she continued to look for any signs of her brother to no avail. She could hear Abby growling and barking behind her. She attempted to shush the dog, but Abby continued. After a few more seconds, Sophie shut the door.

"I could have sworn I heard him," she said. She looked to Abby. The aging greyhound's body was still tense. Sophie did her best to calm the greyhound down and, eventually, Abby started to let her guard down. It was hard to get back into the movie, but Sophie did try to take her mind off of what was most likely a prank. It wasn't Jamie's voice. It was probably some kid who sounded enough like him that her mind tricked her. Brains were notorious for playing tricks.

Abby curling up beside her on the couch was comforting. If anything else happened, Abby would be there to protect her. It was enough to feel a little more at ease. Sophie was relieved when the clock was getting closer to three. As punctual as ever, Beth arrived at the Bennett home only minutes before the clock struck three.

"Hey!" Beth was grinning as she stepped inside. Her pixie cut and oversized sweater were familiar sights. Sophie always saw her as the type of person who could pull of any look she wanted. She had to admit she was a bit jealous of that.

"Hey, Beth."

"Guess who finally remembered to bring the book you wanted to borrow?" She held it up for Sophie to see before handing it over.

"I almost forgot about that," Sophie said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Beth said. "I'm gonna raid your fridge, okay?" She didn't need to wait for permission. Beth was all too aware she was welcomed to take drinks from the kitchen whenever she wanted. As long as she was always careful to keep away from Jamie's beloved energy drinks. Those were off limits to everyone.

When Beth returned to the living room, the two girls settled into their usual routine. Sophie got out plenty of snacks for them while they gossiped over the show that was on TV. They would occasionally glance at the TV to talk about it, but most of the conversation lingered on school and mutual acquaintances. Time passed by too quickly as they joked and played around. Beth was the one to interrupt the goofing off.

"Okay, we gotta watch this." Beth had switched the channel over to some made-for-TV teen movie. It hadn't started yet, but a trailer for the movie was being played right before it started. It was already clear that the acting was cheesy and the comedy was over the top; it was the usual teen movie fare.

"I'm not really big on these," Sophie admitted.

"No, no, trust me, this one is hilarious," Beth said. "Intentionally, too. It's what you need right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Soph, you've been the biggest sad sack lately," she said. "You need some cheesy goodness in your life. Also there are musical numbers."

Sophie laughed before burying her face into the throw pillow on the couch to let out a dramatic groan. "Beth, you're killing me!" She did love musicals, but she couldn't let Beth win without a fight. She lowered the pillow to look at the TV.

"No, it's amazing so shut up."

"I already hate it."

"Shh." Beth reached out to put a hand on Sophie's face to silence her. "No words. Just watch. Look! Leocadio Batara is in it!"

"I don't even know who that is."

"Because you're the worst."

"I just don't obsess over Disney channel-rific actors."

"Sophie, seriously," Beth said. Despite the word 'seriously' there was nothing serious about her tone. "We are going to watch this beautifully crafted masterpiece put together by masters of the industry-"

Sophie laughed. "Masters of the industry?"

"I _said_," she said, pointedly. "We are going to watch this beautifully crafted masterpiece put together by masters of the industry and we're going to love it, and then we're gonna make cupcakes. This is your life now, Sophie. Accept it."

Sophie shook her head with a laugh. She'd lost the 'battle.' Settling in to watch the movie, she heard her phone vibrate on the coffee table before Leocadio Batara could even make his entrance. She reached for her phone to check it. Occasionally her mother would send a text about coming home early and asking about dinner plans. But when she looked down at her phone, she was surprised to see it was from Cupcake. It wasn't that the two didn't get along, but Cupcake was one of Jamie's friends. She rarely had a reason to contact Sophie outside of Jamie.

_I heard abt the site. U ok?_

"Who is it?" Beth asked.

"Cupcake," Sophie said. "Jamie's friend. She wanted to know if I was okay. She mentioned a website but I don't know what she's talking about."

Beth went quiet. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she turned her eyes down to the can of soda in her hand. Beth was terrible at hiding her feelings. Something was wrong.

Sophie frowned. "What is it?"

"I wanted to tell you about it before anyone said anything."

"About what?"

"But it never seemed like the right time."

"About _what_, Beth?"

Without much explanation, Beth lead the way to the family computer. It was an old clunker of a computer since her mother couldn't afford to replace it. It still worked well enough that a new computer could be bumped down the list of necessities. Beth's fingers moved quickly across the keyboard to bring up the website in question.

Sophie's heart sank. On the screen was her school photo and her full name. Insults were plastered on every inch of the website. Each one more vulgar and disgusting than the last. There were threatening comments that Sophie could have never imagined being thrown her way.

"Sophie, I'm so sorry."

"You knew about this?" Sophie looked to Beth.

"I just found out this morning," she admitted. "But I was trying to figure out how to tell you, you know? I don't know how you tell your best friend about this kind of stuff. And, I guess, part of me just kind of hoped if we ignored it, it'd go away. People talked about it at band practice and everyone was saying whoever made it is just an asshole. No one except idiots or jerks would believe anything it says on here about you."

"But it's the idiots and jerks that can make your life miserable," Sophie said. "All it takes is for them to latch onto it."

"Yeah." Beth's voice was soft.

Sophie studied her friend a moment. "It's okay," she said. "I wouldn't know how to tell me either."

"We should tell someone. Maybe they can figure out who-"

"It was Nevaeh," Sophie said. "That part's obvious. She's the only person who'd want to do something like this."

Sophie turned back to the website to look it over. It was difficult to believe everything she was reading. Every slur or derogatory term that could be thrown her way was on there, including a few that didn't even make sense. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. She tried to discreetly wipe her eye before Beth could see what she was doing. There were other photographs of herself. They were innocent but insidious context was added to them with text beneath the picture. There was an image of Sophie talking to Mike Williams, a boy from her class. She had no idea what they had even been talking about at the time or that there was even a picture of them together. The words underneath the picture painted their own version of what was going on. 'Sophie Bennett trying to slut her way to popularity' it read.

"It's so stupid," Beth said. "Mike Williams isn't even popular so that doesn't even make sense."

Sophie couldn't help but laugh at that. "I can always count on you to focus on the important things," she teased. Beth had meant well with her goofy joke and it had helped a little.

"Someone has to."

Looking back to the site, Sophie noticed something in one of the images. It was a darkened figure that was difficult to make out in the thumbnail. Clicking on it to enlarge, she was immediately greeted with the terrifying image of the man from the book standing behind her in the photo. He stared out at her with a pale white face and an impossibly large mouth with black lips; there was dark black around his eyes while his irises were ice blue, almost white.

Sophie felt her heart racing. She looked to Beth with wide eyes. "Why did they put that there?"

"Put what where?"

Sophie turned back to the website to point to the man in the image, but he was gone. It was nothing more than an image of Sophie standing in the hallway with braces on. There was no trace of the Babadook.

"Anyone who makes fun of you because you had braces for two years is an idiot." Beth misunderstood what Sophie meant. "They-"

"No, there was a weird looking man," Sophie said. "He was standing right behind me."

"I didn't see him."

"I swear I saw it, Beth!"

"Maybe I just missed it," Beth said. "It could be a gif or a rollover image."

Sophie nodded. "Yeah, it was probably something stupid like that," she said. "Or my eyes just playing tricks on me. My brain's probably just weird from everything."

The Babadook wasn't real. She only saw him because she was so stressed out and the book was a fresh memory. She would just brush it off as if it never happened. The rest of the website was more important to worry about. She wouldn't tell Beth about the Babadook. She was sure she'd just sound insane.

"Whatever it was, we should stop looking at this thing," Beth said.

"Yeah... I guess I'll talk to Jamie about it when he gets home," Sophie said. Jamie would know what to do. Jamie always knew what to do. He was her big brother; it was his job to know.

"Good idea," Beth said. "Until then... you wanna see if we can take your mind off it?"

Sophie nodded. She knew that would be near impossible, but she did want to try to distract herself. The girls went back to their previous activities even though it was clear Sophie's heart wasn't in it. The things said on the website and the face of the man weighed heavy on her mind. It was only a few hours later that Beth finally had to return home for dinner.

On her way out, Beth paused. "Oh, hey, someone left something on the doorstep," she said. She reached down to pick it up. When she lifted it up so Sophie could see, Sophie felt her heart thumping in her chest at the sight of the Babadook book. Unable to get anything coherent to come out of her mouth, she simply took the book from Beth. Staring at it with wide eyes, she said a halfhearted farewell to Beth. She shut the door behind her friend with her eyes still focused on the book in her hands.

She rushed to the dining room table to open it up. Sophie tried to rationalize what had happened. She flipped through the book again for any clues. The first few pages were the same until she noticed new ones had been added. Pages she hadn't seen before.

"I'll make a wager with you," she read. "I'll make you a bet. The more you deny, the stronger I get."

She turned the page to reveal an illustration of a fair-haired girl lying in bed screaming as the Babadook loomed over her. He shouted the words "Let me in!" with his mouth open so wide it could have devoured the girl in the bed.

She turned another page. The Babadook now towered over her. "You start to change when I get in," she continued to read. "The Babadook growing right under your skin. Oh, come! Come see what's underneath!"

She turned the page to see the fair-haired girl, who she knew had to be her, standing with a knife in hand. Without even pulling the tab to make the pop-up move, the knife sliced into her throat. Sophie was shivering as she slammed the book shut. She couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. She threw the book aside before making sure she locked the door. She immediately ran upstairs with Abby hot on her heels. She didn't stop the dog from curling up in bed with her as she sobbed. She wrapped an arm around her and hugged Abby tightly.

"Nevaeh," Sophie said. She turned to Abby as if the dog understood. Abby responded by tilting her head slightly. "I don't know anybody else that would even dream of doing something like this."

How had it ended up in her room before though? _Mom_, Sophie though. _She probably brought mom the book and told her it was mine, or left it outside our house and mom brought it in. Mom would just put it anywhere she could fit it in my bookcase._ That's how it got there. It had to be.

* * *

><p>The guardians looked down at the diaries laid out before them. Befana and Min had gathered them before coming to North's workshop. Stealing items from the rooms of children wasn't ideal, but this had been out of necessity. It was likely that they held the key to figuring out the true nature of the Babadook. The sight of the journals was far more emotional than any of the guardians had counted on. The very sight of the vibrantly colored notebooks conjured thoughts of a childhood lost. Untouched since their deaths, the dairies held the final written thoughts of Jun-seo and Anna Maria. With a heavy heart, North picked up the pink diary. Anna Maria's name was on the cover in a child's scrawl.<p>

Bunny reached for the other journal and flipped it open. Bunny pressed his ears against his head as he looked it over. He may not have understood the Hangul inside the journal, but it was clearly the handwriting of a child. There were crudely drawn images on every page. _He was partial to animals_, Bunny noted. There was some kind of animal on every page. There were little dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and fish. Each one had what Bunny assumed to be animal sounds or onomatopoeia written next to them. The only one he recognized was the 깡총깡총. It was something he'd seen children in Korea write on images of rabbits before.

"This is where he first mentions the Babadook." Min reached out to point to one of the paragraphs in the journal. "It says that it started with a book he couldn't get rid of."

Min continued to translate for the group. Jun-seo's journal described the book that haunted him in great detail. "He says that things got worse," Min said. "He started seeing the Babadook everywhere he went. His friends didn't believe him. They thought he was playing a prank, and he thought something was wrong with him when no one else could see it."

"Poor little bugger," Bunny said.

"Both journals say a lot of the same things," Min said. She took the book from Bunny to search through it's pages. Toward the end of the journal entries was a page that only contained one sentence. "Including what they thought brought the Babadook to them."

"What do they say?" Jack asked.

"In Jun-seo's journal, he says that the Babadook eats sadness."

"'Il Babadook vive di miseria'," Befana said. "'The Babadook lives in misery.' That was how Anna Maria described it. Even before the Babadook came, the children described their lives as unhappy. They both seem to think that's why he came for them."

"It's targeting depressed children?" Tooth asked.

"We gotta get moving on this," Jack said. "If he's just going from kid to kid, he's probably already got his next victim."

Befana nodded and looked to North. "Can your globe tell us anything?"

North turned to the Globe of Belief at the center of his workshop. He squinted as he looked over every inch of it for any clues. The illuminating lights of believers shone brightly as they always did. It wasn't until he reached North America that he saw something alarming.

"Here," he said. "Something is wrong here." It was easy to miss, but there was darkness on the globe. It was a warning overlooked until now. "I cannot tell exactly, but he looks to be near Burgess."

"Burgess?" Jack stepped closer to the globe. "Are you sure?"

"Burgess or Punxsutawney," he answered. "Maybe both. The shadow is on both cities."

"Then we will go to both," Befana said.

North gave her a look. "Of course we are going to both," he said. "I was going to say we are going to both. Jack, you and I are going to Burgess. Bunny, you go to Punxsutawney. Tooth, Sandy, I need you to check your usual routes in case there is something we missed."

"What about us?" Befana asked. She motioned to herself and Min.

"You two can go home," North said.

"You can't expect us to sit on our hands," Befana said. "I am going to Burgess with you."

Now wasn't the time to fight. North shook his head in defeat. "Fine, you can come," he relented. "Min, go with Bunny. The groundhog will help you."

Bunny let out a incredulous scoff. "The groundhog?" He asked. "Seriously?"

"It's his home turf, cottontail," Jack said with a smirk. "You know how much he loves to help out-of-towners."

Bunny rolled his eyes. "North, you can't really expect us to work with him."

"Bunny, now is not the time," North said.

Had it not been such a dismal situation, Jack would have been able to truly enjoy Bunny's frustration. His dislike of the groundhog was known to everyone, except the groundhog. They were a duo to witness.

Bunny side. "Come on, Min. We should get going."

He tapped his foot against the ground to open one of his rabbit holes. He immediately jumped down to head to Punxsutawney; Min followed close behind. After they left, Tooth and Sandy went back to their regular routes to start their own search. North, however, headed off to his sleigh. Befana and Jack followed after him. Although Befana had her own method of transportation, she knew North's sleigh and snow globes would be speedier than her broom. It was just a fact she wouldn't say out loud.

"I just want to say right now, I am not happy about this," North said. "We are guardians. We can handle this on our own."

"And we don't need to be pushed aside like we don't matter."

Jack watched as Befana and North argued with one another. They had a little less pizazz than he and Bunny did when they fought, he had to admit. It was still interesting to see someone who got under North's skin like this. The feeling seemed to be mutual.

"No one does that." North shook his head.

"You do, all the time!"

Jack was the first one in the sleigh as he waited for Befana and North to board. He was a little surprised to see that, in spite of his dislike of Befana, North offered her a hand to help her aboard.

"Grazie." Befana was never one to disregard her manners. She accept North's hand in order to keep herself steady as she climbed into the sleigh. It was bizarre to watch them jump from arguing to polite gestures in a blink of an eye. "I'm surprised this thing has not fallen into disrepair yet."

That didn't last.

"Maybe your broom cannot be trusted," he shot back. "But my sleigh is made of sturdier stuff." He reached out to give the sleigh a loving pat.

"That must be the yetis doing," she said. "They're the ones with all the talent around here."

Her comment caught the attention of a nearby yeti. He made a noise that sounded grateful.

"You're welcome," she said.

"Mom, dad, all this fighting is breaking my heart," Jack teased. "Don't tell me you're getting a divorce."

Befana gave Jack a surprised look before smiling. North, however, came back with a joke of his own instantly. "Jack, my boy, no matter what happens, remember your mother and I will always love you."

Befana couldn't help but laugh at that. "You are both impossible."

* * *

><p>"You know he drives me bonkers!"<p>

"It's just for a short while," Min said. "And it's for the children."

"I don't know how he's gonna help us," Bunny said.

"You are impossible." Min absentmindedly reached out to clean off a bit of dirt from Bunny's face.

He didn't pull back, but he did cringe. "Min, you gotta stop mothering everyone you meet."

"I do not mother everyone!" Although she protested, she continued to clean up the fur around Bunny's face. He felt like a child being cared for by a parent. "Now I know you can be civil. So be civil."

Punxsutawney was renowned for its pride in Groundhog's Day. People came for miles around to the Punxsutawney Phil Souvenir Shop and Gobbler's Knob Trail; Punxsutawney Phil's burrow was a town landmark. Bunny had never seen a burrow that had a genuine street address before he'd met Phil. Located in Barclay Square, the burrow was attached to the Punxsutawney Memorial Library. The two rabbits carefully crept up to the hidden door beside the public groundhog enclosure. It was an entrance that only Phil used regularly. Min gently knocked on the door. To the uninitiated eye, it looked like just another piece of the wall.

After a few seconds, the door opened. Punxsutawney Phil looked up at the two rabbits that towered over him. He was no taller than Sandy and he had a bit of girth around his stomach and bottom.

"Bunny!"

Bunny cringed at the sound of Phil practically shouting his name. The enthusiastic groundhog approached Bunny to take hold of his paw to give it a vigorous shake. "How've you been?"

"Fine."

"Min, it's good to see you again!" He turned his attention to the female rabbit to shake her hand. "Come on inside. I just made tea. Looks like I get to call it a party now!" He scurried back into his burrow. Min and Bunny exchanged looks before following him inside.

Phil glanced back to them once they came inside. "The place's changed since you've last been here."

"I guess that's to be expected," Bunny said. "I haven't really been here since seventy-four."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant, Min," he said. "She was just here last month."

"Last month?" Bunny looked to her. Min shrugged.

"But that reminds me that you need to come visit me more," Phil said. "You never come around enough! Whenever I try to get you to visit, it's all 'Sorry, mate, eggs this and eggs that.' Some people might call that an addiction."

When imitating Bunny, he tried his best to deepen his higher pitched voice and to imitate the Australian accent. It didn't come out all that flattering. Bunny let out an aggravated sigh.

"Phil, we-"

Bunny was interrupted by Phil jamming his elbow into his side. "I'm just joshing you! I know how important all that stuff is. Let me go get us that tea. We'll catch up!"

Underneath the burrow that the humans could see on a daily basis was Phil's real home. It wasn't anything fancy, but it gave him privacy from prying eyes. He started toward the little kitchenette area to get the tea for himself and his guests. Once he was out of the room, Bunny leaned over to Min with his eyes narrowed. ""You two have been paling around with each other?"

"We _are_ friends."

"I expect this kind of act of treason from Jack, but not you."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be dramatic."

Phil was making his way out of the kitchen with a little tray of drinks. "You know, Bunny, I was just thinking about you the other day."

"That's great," Bunny said. "But we're here because-"

"The Theater Arts Guild was putting on a performance of Les Miz," he explained. "It made me remember how much you like singing."

Min looked to Bunny. "You're a singer?"

Bunny shook his head. "I'm not the singing type, mate."

"Sure you are," Phil said. "Min, have you ever heard him sing?"

"I'm afraid I haven't."

"Voice of an angel."

"Alright, listen, this is all fine and dandy, but we're here on business, Phil," Bunny said. "A child is in danger."

The smile from Phil's face fell and he set aside the tea. "What's going on...?"

Min and Bunny began taking turns explaining the situation. Phil listened in rapt attention without uttering a word. It was one of the few moments that the groundhog was struck speechless. Like the rest of them, he took the children's safety seriously. When they had finished relaying the recent events, Phil gave a determined nod.

"We better not waste any time," he said. "You guys just follow me. If he's targeted one of the kids in this town, we're gonna find him."

Phil was the one that lead the way out of the burrow to start hitting the streets for any signs of the Babadook. Before following him out, Min turned to Bunny.

"How is it that Phil's heard you sing, but I haven't?"

"Because that little stickybeak is an expert eavesdropper."

Min just laughed before the two followed after Phil. Although Phil wasn't as fast as the two rabbits, he did keep a speedy pace. If that child was in Punxsutawney, they were going to find them.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations<strong>

깡총깡총: Kkang-chong-kkang-chong. This is the onomatopoeia for hopping.

Grazie: Thank you.

Stickybeak: This is Australian slang for a nosy or inquisitive person. You can also use it as a verb instead of pry or snoop.


End file.
